Sonic Mania Plus will now be 2018’s only console release of the coveted blue hedgehog. Sega has announced a Team Sonic Racing delay and given it a new release date. It will now come out on May 21, 2019 for the Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One as opposed to its previous “winter 2018” launch date.
The official Sonic Twitter took a brief respite from joking and posting goofy memes to relay the somewhat serious news. The tweet acknowledges the “bad” news but also states that it will only make the game better.
Hey guys! To make Team Sonic Racing the best game it can be, we’re giving the team extra time to work on it. Our new release date is May 21, 2019.
We know delays are no fun, but quality matters most. Thanks for your patience – we’ve got more to show you for TSR very soon!
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) October 25, 2018
While Sega claims it that quality is driving the Team Sonic Racing delay, it also coincides with a recent statement from Sega. Sega has committed to reducing developer crunch for its studios. This has been a hot topic as of late, given Rockstar’s recent statements and how fatal it was for Telltale Games. Sega claimed it had cut 80-hour work weeks by 80 to 90 percent, which is a good start for a more worker friendly environment. If this delay is related, the team has more time to work on the game without having to sacrifice their social lives and health.
Sega has not shown much of the game in the recent months outside of a recent trailer detailing some of the game’s team mechanics. We saw those same mechanics at E3, where we got a hands-on demo. We liked what we played, especially its teamwork based systems that made it feel a bit different than others in the genre.
